I recently purchased new non-runflat tires from the Tire Rack for my '02 C5. I took off the GY Runflats. I want to share my experiance regarding tire mounting and balancing so I decided to write this short and simple review.
For those of you in New England, particularly Massachusetts and Rhode Island, I came to know the great people at Kenwood Tire in West Bridgewater, MA. A hand full of miles from the intersection of Rt 495 and Rt 24.
Kenwood Tire is a recommended Tire Installer for the Tire Rack and for good reason. They;
1) Have a friendly, knowledgable staff working in a clean, organized shop that you can personally talk to and are trained to operate the equipment correctly and as designed.
2) Have a friendly, knowledgable staff working in their showroom who convey customers needs and concerns to people working in shop.
3) Specialize in Tire Mounting, Balancing, and Alignments.
4) Accept tires delivered from the Tirerack.
5) Have the "right equipment" to dismount runflats, mount new tires such as the Run Flat Certified Hunter Tire Mounting machine. These have all the accessories needed to handle our rims without damage.
6) Have the Hunter Road Force Balancing unit that puts a load on the tire to read the true runout and acheive a more precise tire to wheel balance. (this is the first tire place I've been to that actually clean the inside hub surface to insure flat mounting surface to the equipment).
6) Reasonable pricing.
Before I found Kenwood Tire, I spent several weeks searching and visiting other tire places, some with big names known in the area. I wanted to see the equipment they had and meet the people using it. I was very disapointed with several outfits.
As soon as I spoke to Tara at Kenwood tire on the phone and she told me about the business I knew it was the right place to go. I took the 1 hour ride south to visit them and immediately knew that I made the right decision. My next call was to the Tirerack to setup delivery.
I am highly recommending them if your as fussy as I am.
FYI, I'm not their first Corvette Customer either. They do these all the time.
Corvette Store
Tire Mounting Recomendation, New England Area
